NBC going forward with ‘Prime’ pilot

CBS hooks Blake Nelson for 'Chaos;' ABC greenlights 'Comfort'

NBC can’t collar the perfect lead, so it has decided to push production on the pilot for its remake of “Prime Suspect” to summer.

And Tim Blake Nelson has been cast in CBS’ CIA-themed drama pilot “Chaos,” from 20th Century Fox TV.

Also Wednesday, Team Tannenbaum scored its fifth pilot order of the season, with Sony Pictures TV and Tantamount Studios getting a greenlight from ABC for “Southern Discomfort.”

Peacock reps stressed that it remains high on the project, penned by Hank Steinberg for Universal Media Studios. But they haven’t been able to find the right star for the role of the fearless femme detective played in the original British series by Helen Mirren (which explains why the bar is so high). The hope is that after the pilot season frenzy dies down they’ll have more time to sift through a range of contenders for the part.

Meanwhile, casting of other pilots seemed to pick up speed this week. David Denman, formerly of NBC’s “The Office,” has joined Fox’s “Traffic Light,” a relationship comedy from 20th Century Fox TV focused on three guys. It’s based on an Israeli format. Denman will play an attorney who is still adjusting to being married.

On “Southern Discomfort,” Rob Long (“Cheers”) is set to exec produce the multicam comedy from Sony Pictures TV and ABC Studios with Eric and Kim Tannenbaum and Mitch Hurwitz.

Chad Kultgen wrote the script, about a father whose life is upended when his grown children move back home. No actors are attached to the project yet.

Most recently, the Tannenbaums had an untitled Will Arnett comedy picked up by Fox, which Arnett wrote with fellow “Arrested Development” alumni Mitch Hurwitz and Jim Vallely (Daily Variety, Feb. 22).

CBS has two Tantamount pilots, “Team Spitz” with Rob Riggle, and an untitled entry from “Borat” grads Ant Hines and Larry Charles. ABC also has “Wright vs. Wrong,” about a conservative female pundit. Andy Fickman (“Race to Witch Mountain”) has just signed on to direct “Wright vs. Wrong.”